church these days

words to remember from L.T.

There are two things that the church is doing these days. First, it is trying to get something out of God. Whether it's wanting to experience a new sensation during their worship time, how to be financially prosperous, a good leader, a better wife or husband, competent decision maker, skillful professional, wiser thinker, we're looking for God to fill in the gaps of our lives which are lacking. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with any of these things. They are in fact noble and worth pursuing as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

The second thing the church is doing is finding ways of doing something for God. Whether it's mission, teaching sunday school, volunteering at a fundraising function, we are wanting to serve God. Most people are doing it for good reasons, some are not, but no doubt God is still using imperfect people with imperfect motives to advance his kingdom.

Here's the problem. Between wanting something from God and doing something for God is a gap which receives very little attention. GOD. Notice how quick we are in our sermons to jump to the conclusion, and that conclusion had better be the part where we discover how this affects my life. The good sermon is relevant for the here and now and must have application. This is true to some extent but what kind of application is valid? Why isn't the Church studying the Eternal, Triune God any longer? Why has the appetite for theology proper been replaced by a demand for theology practical? Surely it cannot be that the Church feels they have grasped the fundamentals of knowledge of God that is necessary for life; that we've somehow arrived with adequate knowledge of God suitable to carry on with our more pertinent daily issues.

We are worshipping God out of shear ignorance and has been reduced to sentimentality instead of reverent awe. Buddy-Christ mentality has infiltrated Christendom and the Triune God has become minimized and not magnified. When our view of God diminishes, worship suffers, missions suffers, holiness degrades, and the unsaved world turns their head totally unimpressed. Doesn't this sound like a description of today's church?